The surprising Tampa Bay Rays have the best record in baseball, while our beloved LA Dodgers are currently in second place with a losing record. What is the secret of Tampa Bay&#8217;s success? Readers of this site will know in advance, but for the rest of you: TACOS. According to the website Zone Blitz: It…

The Power of the Taco ~ Tampa Bay

core/paragraph

core/quote

Marina Watanabe is director of video and a reporter at L.A. TACO based in Koreatown. Previously, she worked as a video reporter for 404 by Los Angeles Times and a video producer at Condé Nast publications Teen Vogue, Glamour, and Them.

Marina Watanabe

Rows of burned cars in the aftermath of the Eaton Fire that destroyed much of Altadena in January, 2025. Photo by Maks Ksenjak for L.A. TACO.

Books

We Don’t Need to Imagine Octavia Butler’s Post-Apocalyptic L.A. It’s Already Here.

Professional punk and Editor-In-Chief for James Beard Award-winning L.A. TACO. Associate Producer for JBA-winning Las Crónicas Del Taco. Former restaurant scout for Jonathan Gold. Co-author of &#8220;Oaxaca: Home Cooking From the Heart of Mexico (2019, Abrams) and &#8220;Asada: The Art of Mexican-Style Grilling&#8221; (2023, Abrams).

Javier Cabral

Den of Den's Tea posing next to their mascot.

People

L.A.’s Hidden Matcha Master: Masanori Den Shirakata, the Low-Key Legend Only Insiders Know

Shawn Stern playing at the Terragram Ballroom on Sunday, May 18th, 2025.

Interview

Punk Icon Shawn Stern On the World’s Best Underground Scene (and Surviving Slam Dancing in the Desert)

Obituary

The L.A. Food and Drink World Mourns Jose “Chuy” Tovar, a Community Legend, Dead at 55

Alexis Zhou (she/her) is a freelance writer. Always down for hot pot, H Mart, and housing policy reforms.

Alexis Zhou

Food

Homeless Chinese Man In DTLA Goes Viral With ‘American-Style Begging’  Videos, Branding Him Both a Hero and Villain Across the Pacific

Yaileen Ramos is a young Latina born and raised in East L.A. In her free time, she enjoys watching the Dodgers and Lakers. Yaileen aspires to be synonymous with her city.

Yaileen Ramos

New Dancing With the Stars champions Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy

Echo Park’s Own Xochitl Gomez Wins The Finale of Dancing With the Stars

Explore

Footer - NEW

Legal Footer

Main - NEW

Mobile

Become a subscriber today to get unlimited access

Thanks for reading!

This is member's only content.

Members get unlimited access to all of our stories, along with incredible perks like free tacos, invites to our events, access to our mobile app, and much more!

Become a Member of L.A. TACO

Register to continue

L.A. TACO

Lizbeth Solorzano is a graduate student pursuing a Master&#8217;s in Specialized Journalism. As a native to Los Angeles, she loves writing stories about arts, culture, and local news. Growing up bilingual, she loved learning about different cultures and stories around L.A.

a girl smiles into the camera in front of a blue background

Lizbeth Solorzano

Lexis-Olivier Ray is an award-winning staff investigative reporter for L.A. TACO known for holding powerful people in Los Angeles accountable and his reporting on Los Angeles culture. As well as an artist and filmmaker. In 2022, the Society of Professional Journalists&#8217; Los Angeles chapter named Ray one of their &#8220;distinguished journalists.&#8221; In 2023, Ray won a second place Anthem Award in their Health Innovation category for a texting service geared towards the unhoused community and service providers that he launched in 2021 with L.A. TACO and Subtext. Ray was a 2020 USC Center For Health Journalism (CHJ) Data Fellow. As well as a 2022 CHJ Impact Fellow. As a freelancer, Ray has contributed to the L.A. Times, Men&#8217;s Health Magazine, KCET and SFGATE.

Lexis-Olivier Ray

News

Scoop: City of L.A. Facing Over 120 Claims For Damages Related To Anti-ICE Protests Amid Financial Crisis

Izzy Ramirez is a Los Angeles-based staff reporter with L.A. TACO, documenting immigration enforcement and state power as it unfolds on the ground. Their work centers real-time alerts and long-term public archiving throughout the Southern California region.

Izzy Ramirez

Erwin Recinos is a seasoned visual artist with an eye for capturing life as a working commuter aboard public transportation in and around Los Angeles. For 20 years now, Recinos has been documenting the urban landscape, street culture, and Hispanic communities of Los Angeles utilizing his daily routine and the city of Los Angeles as an inspiration. Recinos also works with popular food and event websites such as LATACO.com and Eater LA to capture the cuisine and culture that is so important to the city of Los Angeles and across Southern California.

Erwin Recinos

Daily Memo: ICE Returns to Downtown LA ISAP Office, Increases Raids in the Inland Empire

Blending her time in the kitchen as a line cook with her passion for storytelling, Lauren Bethke writes about community, inclusivity and the city she loves the most—Los Angeles.

a woman sits outside wearing a black long sleeve outfit

Lauren Bethke

L.A. Taco Guides

The Best Restaurants in L.A., According to Punks

L.A. TACO STAFF

The left three panels of Sandy Rodriguez's "Book 13" map at The Huntington

You Can Now View a 20-Foot Map of U.S. Detention Centers at The Huntington

Daily Memo: ICE Shoots At Man in Central Valley and ICE Takes People in the Coachella Valley and Glendora

Tacos

We Mapped All 64 TACO MADNESS Competitors, From Palms to Pomona

post

Janette Villafana is an award-winning bilingual multimedia journalist. Her heart lies in community-based reporting, and her work is highly centered on showcasing and uplifting community voices, with a significant focus on the Latino community. She developed her beat at L.A. TACO, covering street vending communities in Los Angeles. Past work has been featured on NBC, LAist, Latino Rebels, and more. She is currently featured at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington in an exhibit titled “¡De última hora! Latinas Report Breaking News.”